Non-resorbable meniscus prosthesis are known from for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,171,322 and 5092,894, the latter being a divisional application of the first. Both describe a stabilized meniscus prosthesis, comprising a body with tails attached to both ends of the body. The tails are used to fix the body in a predetermined place. U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,322 also discloses different ways to connect the tails together. In one embodiment the prosthesis may contain a porous border to allow fibrous tissue in-growth and thereby attachment to soft tissue surrounding the knee joint, e.g. synovial tissue and/or peripheral capsule. The design of the body of the meniscus prosthesis known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,171,322 and 5,092,894 is similar to the design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,193 and approaches the design of the native meniscus, however is not a copy.
A disadvantage of the meniscus prosthesis disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,171,322 and 5,092,894 is that it is not rigidly attached to surrounding bone in the knee joint. The mobility of the meniscus prosthesis as disclosed in the cited references may cause instabilities of the meniscus when compressive stress is applied. Such compressive stresses, which already exist under normal exercise of the knee joint (e.g. standing, walking), may cause the meniscus prosthesis body to expand in a radial direction, with the risk that it extends outside the knee joint and causes instability of the knee joint.